Our imagination.

It’s a gift we use to go anywhere and do anything we want. We used this gift very well and without doubting its power until the age of four or five.

We used it to build beautiful pictures in our minds of things we wanted to do and places we wanted to go. We even saw ourselves with special powers, such as flying or leaping to the roof of buildings.

But that all started to change soon after we went off to school. Then teachers and other well-meaning adults started to scold us for using our imagination. They called it not paying attention or daydreaming.

So, we stopped fantasizing and started focusing on the mundane world—our schoolwork, chores, and looking after our brothers and sisters.

And as we grew into adolescence and young adulthood, instead of fantasizing about things we wanted, we started to use our imagination in a much different way. We started to imagine our greatest fears and worries coming true.

An Ironic Thing About Human Beings

As children, we are fascinated by the lives led by adults, but once we grow up, we wish we could ditch all the complications and go back to being kids again.

Although both are irrational thoughts and ideas, you can reawaken the little child within you, no matter how old you are. And when you do, you can use your imagination to block out what’s happening in your life today and build an image in your mind of how you want to live.

You see, not only did you have a powerful imagination as a kid, but you also likely had less self-judgment. And that’s s a potent combination. Kids have little sense of what they can’t do.

The good news is you don’t have to be so different as an adult. You just have to remember to follow in your inner child’s footsteps.

5 Ways to Keep Your Inner Child Alive

1. Get Curious and Ask Better Questions

Albert Einstein said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”

Children are naturally curious, constantly learning, and continuously stretching—bringing more of themselves to the surface. They have no experience to base their decisions on, so they ask questions and explore the world to find out how things work and how far they can push themselves.

Be more curious about life instead of thinking you already know everything and stop asking the same old questions. Those questions come from old, repetitive thoughts you have every day.

Be more open-minded and start to explore more. Create new ideas as a child would. And ask questions that will generate ideas that will lead you somewhere you’ve never gone before. Make it a point to learn something new every day.

2. Play Pretend

Pretend you’re happy when you’re sad. Pretend you’re the wealthy, successful, loving, generous person you want to be. Or pretend your heart is glowing and it’s connected to everyone else.

Find different ways to have imagination play a more central role in your daily life.

3. Take More Risks

Rules don’t confine children, and so they are pretty adventurous. They have no fear and are huge risk-takers. Children run fast, climb high, and strike up conversations with anyone they think looks interesting.

Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” I agree. Many of the greatest lessons and most fun you’ll receive in life are going to come from taking risks and being adventurous.

You may avoid failing, suffering, and sorrow if you don’t risk, but you cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live fully. So, reach out to someone new, start a business, go for the life you really want. You never know where any of it could lead.

4. Stop Worrying About What Others Think

If a child likes something, they throw themselves into it entirely. They don’t care what anyone else thinks about it. They laugh, sing, or dance when the feeling hits them. As adults, we worry about looking foolish. Who cares?!

Let your inner child lead the way and dance like nobody’s watching. Let go once in a while and do the things that wind you up, scare and excite you at the same time, and make you happy to jump out of bed each morning.

5. Be More Creative

Children don’t know how things are “supposed” to be done. They make things up, coming up with their own unique ways of interpreting and creating the world. This freedom leads to new solutions, creative outlets, and wonderfully expressive art.

Every child is an artist. What kind of art would your inner child create today? Make time to do something creative at least once a week. Your skill doesn’t matter. The point is to be consistent in reawakening your creativity or find unexpected creative outlets that you never knew would bring you joy.

Download the coloring book below to get you started.

Take Hints from Your Younger Self

When you were a young child, your parents or teachers may have stifled your imagination and creativity by telling you you couldn’t do something you really wanted to do. Or maybe they said you’d never be a lawyer, singer, entrepreneur, or whatever it was that you longed to be.

You were a child, so you obeyed them and believed what they said. And you learned to let your dreams go. But, you are—and always have been—tapped into the energy of the creative flow of the universe. It’s literally flowing through you, and if you let it out, it will change your life in remarkable ways.

You see, Spirit divinely guides you at all times, and Spirit is perfect. It makes no mistakes. When you have a strong desire to express or create something, know that the feeling is divine discontent. There is something in you that wants to grow.

When an exciting idea comes to mind, you have the choice of keeping it alive by letting your imagination flow or dismissing it and remaining stuck in fear. Trusting the perfection that resides within you is the key.

NEVER say or think you’re too old for anything. I’m 87, and I set new goals that stretch me all the time. Like when I was a child, I love to learn and do things I’ve never experienced.

As adults, we tend to let complacency, security, and boredom set in. But not kids. They have the instinct to fight boredom, and in that respect, children are great actors. They’ll take the most mundane things and make them an adventure. They put some life into the ordinary.

Take a hint from your younger self and do some acting. Build an image of how you want to live. Then, act like the person you want to become. Like a child, you’ll be surprised and delighted by what happens.

What a fabulous idea.

To your success,

Bob Proctor